Kate Wagner

Architecture Critic

@mcmansionhell

Kate Wagner is The Nation’s architecture critic and a journalist based in Chicago and Ljubljana, Slovenia.

A former tobacco warehouse in South Boston that has been converted to apartments.

One Solution to the Housing Crisis Is in Plain Sight One Solution to the Housing Crisis Is in Plain Sight

The shortage can be addressed not through costly new development but by reusing existing buildings.

Jun 2, 2025 / Kate Wagner

The future president in Trump Tower circa 1987.

Real Estate Is the Key to Trump’s Worldview Real Estate Is the Key to Trump’s Worldview

His policies and behavior may often baffle, but he is a developer at heart.

Apr 28, 2025 / Kate Wagner

Parts of LA  Are Not Going to Be Habitable

Parts of LA Are Not Going to Be Habitable Parts of LA Are Not Going to Be Habitable

Insurers have figured out that risk is too high in parts of California. We need to re-conceive how people are housed, and fast.

Mar 12, 2025 / Column / Kate Wagner

The Real Problem With Trump’s Cheesy Neoclassical Building Fetish

The Real Problem With Trump’s Cheesy Neoclassical Building Fetish The Real Problem With Trump’s Cheesy Neoclassical Building Fetish

Sure, it’s a dog whistle for “retvrn” types and the results are tacky—but that’s not the worst part.

Feb 12, 2025 / Column / Kate Wagner

Donald Trump enjoys a good faux-Hellenic column.

Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again

Last term, his ill-informed embrace of “traditional” aesthetics fanned the flames of the culture wars. This time, he’s poised to do even more damage.

Jan 7, 2025 / Kate Wagner

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture "The Brutalist" and the Hidden Work of Architecture

A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi...

Dec 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

Everyone Needs to Disavow Neom

Everyone Needs to Disavow Neom Everyone Needs to Disavow Neom

Now that they know about the staggering number of deaths the Saudi megaproject has caused, architects have absolutely no more excuses.

Nov 7, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Want to Build Worker Power? Ask an Architect.

Want to Build Worker Power? Ask an Architect. Want to Build Worker Power? Ask an Architect.

You don’t have to wield a T-square to benefit from the field’s first collective bargaining agreement in decades.

Sep 30, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Fredric Jameson

The Gifts of Fredric Jameson (1934–2024) The Gifts of Fredric Jameson (1934–2024)

The intellectual titan bestowed on us so many things, chief among them a reminder to Always Be Historicizing.

Sep 26, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Our Buildings Were Built for a Different World

Our Buildings Were Built for a Different World Our Buildings Were Built for a Different World

The climate crisis demands that we retrofit them—which won’t happen at scale until architects start seeing themselves as political actors.

Aug 7, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

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